Saturday 12 July 2014

It all started when a little girl took a biscuit from another child-creative intelligence



It all started when a little girl took a biscuit from another child’s snack box, when the teacher gently prompted her to ask permission before taking from someone, the girl said,’goldilocks did not ask permission’. This got us thinking, where life’s values are concerned, is Goldilocks an apt story for young growing minds? On one hand we teach them about please, thank you and sorry and on the other hand, this story teaches them the contrary!
To change all that, the level three (age 5) children of Podar Jumbo Kids, discussed a new version of Goldilocks- GOLDILOCKS AND THE 3 MAGIC WORDS, in this story they change the end where some kids teach Goldilocks to go back to the bears home and help her learn to say thank you, sorry and please. The kids have even drawn their own version of the new story. This little new version is an attempt by children, for the children and of the children.
This started the ball rolling and we initiated discussion starters with all our senior kindergartners, we retold them all the traditional fairy tales and rhymes and then we asked them if they would like to change anything  and the reason why they would like to change them and what a fantastic discussion starter it was, here are some excerpts – (T signifies teacher and K signifies kids)
About Hansel and Gretel-
K- I don’t think there is anyting like witches, I think it was an old grandmother who liked to
     give sweets to little kids, my dadi(grandmother) does that.
T- But then why did she call them inside the house?
K- Maybe so that they can sit and eat the sweets.
K- Or maybe she wanted them to wash their hands after eating.
T- Hmm that’s a good idea, so the old lady wanted Hansel and Gretel to wash their hands?
K- Yes and maybe rinse their mouth too so that germs don’t attack.
K- And maybe Hansel and Gretel were scared because she asked them to brush their teeth and they did not like to brush their teeth
T- That sounds interesting, so the old lady called them in to brush their teeth…
K- No to teach them how to brush their teeth and keep them healthy….

For the 3 little pigs-
·         K- Why is the wolf always bad? Are wolves bad?
·         T- Well, I have not met one so I really don’t know if they are bad.
·         K- Yes they are because they eat other animals.
·         T- But lions and tigers eat them too then why don’t these stories have lions and tigers? Why only a wolf?
·         K- And some wolves must be good too, right?
·         T- o.k so lets assume that this wolf was a good wolf, then why was he chasing the pigs?
·         K- Maybe to teach them to make better homes
·         T- Better?
·         K- Yes stronger……
The Jumbo Kids Senior Kindergarten classrooms (age 5) have been busy drawing, coloring, writing and creating new versions of old fairy tales and songs commonly sung in schools. These kids want to change their world and make it more relevant to ‘their’ childhood. These kids want to innovate, create and change the way teachers and parents entertain and teach them.
And that is what we have done in this unique project AVISHKAR- change and creativity, we identified certain rhymes and songs commonly sung in preschools, which have a negative message or have an incorrect message for growing children. We discussed these with our senior kindergarten children and helped them come up with new versions that were more positive. The kids then drew pictures of the old and new versions and we have compiled them into a book that can be used by all preschools and parents.
Books made by children, for children and for the healthy language, moral and socio-emotional development of children. Here is a little information of the  new versions-
1.   ‘Piggy On The Railway’ became ‘Piggy On The Railway Revisited’ - where the engine driver was more considerate and said I will take more care, instead of saying, I don’t care.
2.   ‘3 Blind Mice’ became ‘3 White Mice’ - in which the mice are not blind, but are white and the farmer’s wife did not cut their tails with a carving knife.
3.   ‘Humpty Dumpty’ became ‘Humpty Dumpty Did Not Fall’ – the rhyme now teaches the kids to be more careful and so does not fall down and is in one piece today.
4.   ‘A Hunting We Will Go’ became ‘On A Picnic We Will Go’ - so there is no fox to catch and put in a box, but pictures to click and animals to enjoy.
5.   ‘Ding Dong Bell’ became ‘The New Ding Dong Bell’- and pussy is not thrown in the well.
6.   ‘Ringa Ringa Roses’ became ‘The Healthy Ringa Ringa Roses’ - a death song sung during the plague in London is now changed with more healthy words.
7.   ‘Hansel And Gretel’ became ‘Hansel And Gretel Meet The Kind Old Lady’ -  who taught them about dental hygiene,
8.   ‘Goldilocks And The 3 Bears’ became ‘Goldilocks Learns The 3 Magic Words’- where Goldilocks does not run away from the bears, but learns how to say sorry, thank you and please- the 3 magic words.
9.    ‘3 Little Pigs’ became ‘The 3 Little Pigs Love The Earth’ -and instead of the wolf trying to eat them, the pigs learn a lesson in environment from the wolf.
10.                ‘3 Billy Goats’ became ‘The 3 Billy Goat’s New Friend The Troll’ – and the pigs actually find out what made the Troll angry and they helped him keep the river clean.
11.               The Elves And Shoe Maker - had no changes but we added about healthy shoe habits for the kids.
These path breaking books have been created by them, to celebrate the world of kindergarteners, a world that is buzzing with brain growth, neural connections and 5D (5 senses) stimulation. Read these books to see their world with new eyes, eyes that will not only see their chubby cheeks but also their cherubic happy involved thinking skills.
Pick up a copy of these books and join us in helping kids listen to  and read healthy stories and songs. Come, support the true  ‘generation next’ redefine-  AVISHKAR - Creativity and Change for a happy Childhood.
Write to us on talktous@podar.org or @swatipopat

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Books provide inspiration, thought and reflection .Children aren’t born with an innate knowledge that text is read from left to right, or that the words on a page are separate from the images. Essential pre-reading skills are among the major benefits of early reading. This is such a detailed article about the making kids sensitive towards society creating new versions of old books as I still remember the Cinderella story had a great impact on my little mind when I was just 10 years old and I lost my mom and was having fear of step mom.... Books have the power to benefit toddlers and pre-schoolers in a myriad of ways... I will request all to support AVISHKAR

Anonymous said...

Young children strive to make sense of the world in which they live. They try to organize the visual images and concrete objects in their environment into meaningful systems. Children want to try practically what they heard. Meaningful story books for children can present experiences that have a connection to their lives. So, literature can help children learn about the real world in a pleasurable and fascinating way, perceive their surroundings, and understand relationships with others. In other words, children's literature provides children with fundamental answers about who they are, how they should live in their world, and how they should live with each other.”Avishkar”, which gives your child a support to create a true generation to have a wonderful childhood.

Unknown said...

Undoubtedly this tiny tots are good at logical thinking, mam your guidance is helping us in different ways and spreading through all your researches, we are able to prove ourselves as a good educators.. yes, these rhymes as told by the children is definitely a revolution. Your guidance has helped us in understanding our children.

shilpa said...

Thank you for bringing this wonderful article some poems are used for long long years unknowingly,wrong teaching in poems and this was thought in school and we also have learn't but thinking deeply feel that why we were not aware of wrong thought in poem it's time up to look for new thanks for the new version which introduces new world.

Unknown said...

Stories help teach children good morals and ethical values. Stories not only strengthen the child’s understanding of language, they also stimulate the brain in other areas and are of fundamental importance in child development. Of all the activities to support child in literacy sharing stories is the most beneficial.
The first five years of a child's life is the most important to reach its brain and the best way to achieve it is through songs and rhymes. AVISHKAR is a very innovative project and important step taken by Podar Jumbo Kids which will help kids learn more positive than what children were learning negative or incorrect message from the old version of stories, rhymes and songs.
Let us all support AVISHKAR and spread the message.
AVISHKAR - Creativity and Change for a happy childhood.

jayshree shah said...

Hats off to you to think about such a great thing which is happening in the educational system is that children are made to fit into the unrelating &rigid system, damaging the individuality & creativity of the child.A new version with new message is positive enforcement.
Every parent & School should have the copy of new version &use it for positive enforcement.I feel proud that every Pjk student are learning this new version before others could even think about it through various stories & rhymes.
What a great idea

Jumbo Kids, Chakan said...

Thank you ma'am for such a wonderful article and bringing a great change by introducing new version of rhymes and stories.Its time to remove all old version of rhymes and stories from our children's mind and help them to learn things in a positive way.

Uma Nagdeo said...

Young children have great impact on their minds of whatever they see, hear and experience, so it is very important to provide them with correct experiences, morals and values because learning at this age is going to prolong for a longer period of time. So each one of us should support such projects to bring a creative change and happy childhood.

Uma Wagh PJK Jalgaon said...

Ma'am "Kiducation" is AVISHKAR.
Ma'am when students come up with their own stories with the art , one can connect it to the future of the child & it shows how fast is the emotional growth of the preschooler.
Children embarass us in public by behaving just like we do at home as you said ma'am .And that's true, this is where emotional growth starts at home & then in school so teachers play an important role in every child's life. Children are learning all time....

Ma'am really thank you for giving us really something new to give best to the preschoolers.

Unknown said...

As from our childhood we were learning the same stories and rhymes and never thought of negative impact of it.But through AVTSHKAR the positive way of learning strength the child's development and also stimulates the brain.Let us spread the message of positiveness through "AVISHKAR"

Unknown said...

I Ms. Janice Gomes teacher with PJK Plus Vile Parle, thank you ma'am for sharing this blog. It's really important for we all teachers to know what we are teaching to the kids through a story, earlier we didn't realise that these old stories would give such a negative message to kids.But now after revamping these stories it would really help kids to learn the good manners and habits.

Unknown said...

I Ms.Tanvi Mody teacher of PJK Plus Vile Parle would like to thank you ma'am for sharing this blog with us. Revamped stories will give correct message to kids because its really important that kids should not learn wrong things from stroies and rhymes.

Sonali Karmakar said...

Thank you ma'am for sharing this blog with us. Story indeed plays a very important role in our day to day life to teach basic morals and values to the children we are dealing with. Things which cannot be explained directly can be easily told via story in a very interesting way. Kids do related themselves with the characters of these stories and start behaving like them. However, it is very important to choose the correct story as per the age of the children. The brain of the children becomes more active while listening to story, and also helps in language development. 'Avishkar' is a great initiative taken by us, we must all support it to reach our goal.

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Unknown said...

I Ms. Poonam Borade teacher of PJK Plus Vile Parle thank you ma'am for sharing this blog. We don't realize that we are guiding kids wrong through rhymes and stories. Now it's time to change our view of singing rhymes and telling stories. our interaction with children should be more social and having moral values.

Unknown said...

I Ms. Ramola Menezes teacher of PJK Plus Vile Parle would like to thank you ma'am for sharing this blog with us.We were teaching children rhymes and stories in an incorrect way but this blog gave us an idea of teaching stories and rhymes to children in a right way.

Unknown said...

Stories are important tools to teach children ad children earn well and remember when they hear or read stories. They start idolising the characters hence it is important to be careful while choosing the stories for the children.
And shaping them to suit the correct way and values is a wonderful idea.

Unknown said...

I Ms Leela Chamaria teacher of PJK Plus Vile Parle thank you maam for sharing this wonderful blog.After reading this blog we as teachers will be more observant and respect each and every kids views about stories and rhymes.

Unknown said...

I Ms. Kalpita Bhirud teacher of PJK Plus Vile Parle thank you for such a wonderful article. Our children grow up listening to rhymes and stories and it is very important that they learn good positive morals. I truly support Avishkar -creativity and change for a happy childhood.

Unknown said...

I Ms.Vidhi Chawda teacher of PJK Plus Vile Parle thank you ma'am, for sharing such a unique article. Indeed stories and rhymes plays a vital role in children's life.By revamping this we teach them the good ethics.